Deuteronomy 11:22-23 "For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; (23) Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves."
Billions of dollars are paid each year to people who claim to be able to teach
you how to be successful. Some are legitimate. Some probably are not so
legitimate. What if I told you that I know the absolute and sure way to
success? What if I told you it would not cost you anything other than
your time and your attention to applying these principles? Would you be
interested? Let me share a bit of it this morning.
Notice our two verses today begin with the "If and then" conditional
statements. The Lord said to Israel, "If you will, then I
will." It still applies to us today. If you do what I say, then the
results will be successful. Is that not the same advice that we hear from
counselors of all walks of life? When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, my
doctor said, "If you will do what I tell you and eat the right things,
then this can be controlled. But if you don't do the things I tell you, then
there will be consequences." You see, there were the "If and
Then" declarations.
One of the most often quoted "If and Then" statements is found in 2
Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land." We hear that a lot, don't we? And it is an absolute truth.
But it is a conditional statement that if we follow His instructions, then God
is true to His part of the statement. But if we notice something in
today's passages of Scripture, we can see an "if and then" statement
that would prevent us from having to fall back on 2 Chronicles 7:14.
If you will keep my commandments, then I will drive out the enemy and you shall
possess the land. You see, 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a prescription for
healing. Deuteronomy 11:22-23 is a step of prevention. Was it Ben Franklin who
said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? God repeated
these words throughout the process of the law being given to the people:
"that it might be well with thee." When Moses died, Joshua was
given the responsibility of leading the people. God spoke to him concerning the
law, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou
shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according
to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8)
There it is. I just reminded you, and me, of the path to success in life. These
principles work no matter what course of life the Lord leads you. "Love
the LORD your God. Walk in all His ways. Cleave (hold closely) to Him."
Then Jesus reminded us of the second great commandment, "Love thy
neighbor as thyself." If we will follow these commands, the Lord has
promised success in life.